New amazon with behavior issues

[Jaicee]

Hello all! We just inherited a 20 yr old yellow naped from an elderly relative who can no longer physically care for her. This couple had been her only owners for all 20 years. She had been in our home for 2 days when i decided to open her door and see if she would be comfortable coming out on her own and perching atop her cage. After a few hours she did and i was more than thrilled when she climbed down and started walking across the floor until she started lunging at my bare feet, chasing me and trying to hop on my legs. Of course, i ran for my life and she eventually went back in her cage. After i recovered i thought id try again. She did the same thing but eventually gave up and went back again. About an hour later she climbed on top of her cage and bowed her head, letting me scratch her neck for an extended period of time awhile lateri handed her a treat and as i was pulling away she jumped on my arm and proceeded to bite me numerous times. I guess my question is, why the quick mood changes? What am i doing wrong and how do i begin to correct this behavior? I realize this is going to take some time but im some what unwilling to be her chew toy on a permanent basis

 

[Kiwibird]

Welcome and congrats on your new bird. Amazons are peculiar (albeit wonderful) little birds, and the mood swings you describe are classic zon behavior. While you should NEVER yell at or punish a bird, amazons do tend to need a little more of a firm and commanding tone/stance to listen to and respect you. In fact, many people are terrified of amazons because of their mood swings, and it's not so much a matter of these birds being vicious, it's more understanding how to handle them and not let them get away with foul behavior. Right now your bird is in a whole new environment with people she doesn't know very well (after 20 years in a presumably loving home she was perfectly happy in), so she is probably confused, scared and testing you. You will need some patience and to understand you will very likely get nipped a couple times before you and her become on better terms.

My first recommendation is to get started on stick training, if she is not already (a 3' long 1" diameter wood dowel is fine to use). When you can get your bird to step up on a stick, it's a lot easier to, ahem, defend yourself against attacks in a way that is safe for you and the bird. Next time she comes running at your feet, just hold the stick in front at about belly-height for her (don't bump it into her belly, a couple inches in front is fine) and give her the step up command in a firm, authoritative tone. Do not back down until she follows your command and gets on the stick. Afterwards, calmly place her back in her cage (door closed) for a few minutes until she has cooled down and is ready to come back out and be a nice bird again. You also need to reward her with verbal praise, treats and (if she likes it) pets/scratches when she is behaving and use a gentler, soothing voice. She will eventually (remember to have patience) learn she gets a much better response being calm than she does being vicious, and more importantly, that she does not intimidate you (because you haven't ran away when she came after you, essentially letting her "win").

 

[ann]

first of all welcome and congrats on your new amazon! Since its only been 2 days, she is still probably very nervous: new people and a new environment can really stress her out. before handling her, i would work on just getting familiar with her. sit near her cage and talk to her for a little while every day, drop a treat in her dish whenever you walk by, and feed her lots of fresh vegetables and some fruit. now would be a good time to start clicker training her.
Clicker training is great because you can train her to be more comfortable with you and create a positive activity for the two of you without having to get to close. take a dog clicker (you can get them at petco for about 2 dollars) and sit next to her cage. click the clicker and give her a treat through the bars. if she doesn't want to come close enough to take the treat from you, you can use a sprig of millet spray so she can get a treat without coming too close to you. every time you click the clicker give her a treat, you want her to associate the clicking sound with doing something good and receiving a treat. now take a plain chopstick and stick it through the bars of the cage. if she touches it with her beak, or lightly nibbles it, but not bites it (you don't want to teach her to bite the stick) click the clicker and give her a treat. keep doing this in the same spot until she readily reaches for the chop stick. now start to move the stick a few inches over and click and reward her for touching it. keep moving the stick farther and farther away until she will follow the stick all the way across the cage and wherever you point the stick. be sure to reward her every time she touches and follows the stick. Finally, try getting her to come in and out of the cage using the stick to point her in the direction you want. with more time and training you can use the stick to ask her to step up and down, go in and out of her cage, and come to you. Do all of these steps over the period of a few days, keep training sessions short- 15 minute sessions about 3 to 4 times a day.

I would also look into trick training her. Training your bird tricks is a good way to bond with your bird and keep her mentally and physically stimulated. You can also cue a trick when she gets overly excited as a way to distract her. Tricks can also be a great way to introduce her to new people by letting them try to cue a trick and giving her the chance to show off and get comfortable in front of new people. There are plenty of tricks you can teach her with a clicker and without touching her so she can still learn even if you cant pick her up yet.

some birds behave strangely when they are on the floor, so i wouldn't allow her there anymore. my bird starts displaying when let him on the floor. he usually doesn't bite, but he acts like he will. He starts puffing up and pinning his eyes and doing a little swaying dance, its funny to watch but he can get a little too excited and start nipping, so i try to avoid it.

When she bites look her right in the eye and sternly say "no." and put her down somewhere. Not the floor (some parrots react strangely to the floor), and not in her cage. The cage should be a place of rest, play, and enjoyment for your bird, not a place of punishment. try putting her down on a play stand or on top of her cage, but not locked inside. Don't yell at her or yell out in pain. Yelling at her is not good for bonding, and yelling in pain only makes it exciting for your bird. Parrots, especially amazons, love drama so running away while she chases you or yelling out in pain just makes things exciting for them and doesn't teach them not to bite. if you cant pick her up , try using a perch for her to step up on instead of your hand.

I'm sure she has found a great new home with you! Best of luck and God bless~

 

[Birdman666]

My answer to birds that chase feet has been to either (1) get a big pillow and back the bird's little butt up until they back down, or (2) get my towel, and turn them into a "towel mummy." THAT'S NO BITING.

If you run when they chase you, you're backing down, and they are winning the argument. You are reinforcing the aggression every time you do that. So, number one is don't run, except if it's to get the towel or your pillow.

My guess is this bird is testing his boundaries right now. He's trying to find out who's in charge - and if it's going to be HIM.

Set the boundaries. You're in charge!

AND A LOT OF ZONS ACT NEGATIVELY TO THE STICK. IF HE'S AFRAID OF THE STICK, TRY A BIG TOWEL WRAPPED AROUND YOUR ARM.

Also, if he wasn't out, or handled much, chances are he's not as tame as he should be. Start over from square one with basic taming and training, and go from there.

 

[Jaicee]

Thanks for all the advice ill share a little more info. When she was out the second time i wrapped a very thick towel around my legs and had shoes on so when she attacked and bit it wouldnt hurt and i could remain calm and non reactive. I thought i was showing her that she wouldnt get any sort of attention for behaving that way. I know not to yell or scream at any bird and even when she hopped on my arm and proceeded to turn it into what now looks like a gnawed up old shoe i didnt falter and immediately put my arm on the ground and waited rather impatiently for her to give up and walk away, which she didnt do. I had to pry her beak open to get her to let go. Her previous owner said she wasnt handled regularly but loved to get off her cage and walk around, which is why i decided to let her out. I had spent the previous 2 days sitting intermittantly by her cage talking to her, rubbing her beak and giving her treats when she would let me do so but also walking away from her cage if she offered to nip or even looked like she was about to. We did initially try to use a stick to get her to step up and she immediately went into attack mode so im not sure ats going to work for her. Im uneasy putting a towel on my arm since i know now that she will jump. Dont want to lose an eye is she jumps Since i cant physically handle her at all without getting bit im not exactly sure how to let her out at all since if she misbehaves i have no way to get her back in her cage. If i throw a towel over her and forceably put her back am i just going to make her more fearful? I ask that even though in the back of my mind i dont think she did any of this out of fear but instead out of agressiveness. Does any of this make sense? While she is our first amazon she is not our first parrot so i have what i like to believe is a simple understanding of basic behavior and she honestly has me puzzled at this point

 

[Kiwibird]

Since she has never been previously handled to speak of, it makes a lot more sense why she is behaving this way (she doesn't really know her manners around you). I would try target training, at first in the cage and then gradually get her to follow the target out of the cage and then target to a stick and finally onto your arm. It will take some time to do, but reading your further information, it may be best to just treat her as though she has never been handled at all and is just learning for the first time. Here is a shoe bunch of basic videos demonstrating target training:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=target+training+a+parrot

I suggest you watch a few, and then do some research into the training methods of any of the trainers you like or feel you can follow easily

 

[Jaicee]

Again, thank you!! I have chopsticks so i will try this but i will have to do it while she is inside her cage since i know she can and will, if she so desires, jump off onto me. Right now she is resting so ill wait until she is ready but it does spark another question. Sometimes she will take a treat and other times she drops it in a flash and bites without pinning eyes or doing any posturing that i can see. How do i avoid getting bit if she is doing what i have decided is luring me in for the bite? She is a sneaky girl

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum. Don't let the biting/lunging run you away. You don't want her to think she's controlling you with this action. Your goal is to take charge by controlling interactions.(similar to what she's doing). You need to make small decisions for her. When she wants pets, only give them for a few seconds and quit. She'll probably try and bite if you quit too soon so be prepared. The biting is all about her controlling her situation. It has probably worked well for her in the past and will take time to change.Pick a favorite treat she ONLY gets from your hand when good. Make her earn it.Don't keep handing out treats until she's had enough. Yes she's a sneaky girl, hen zons can be very sneaky and determined. Don't trust her. "How do i avoid getting bit if she is doing what i have decided is luring me in for the bite? " Don't put your self in the situation to get bit. All interactions should be short, end on a good note and leave her wanting more from you. The target,clicker, training can all be done with her inside the cage. I wouldn't let her out , not yet anyway. Loads of good info in some of the older threads in this section. I'm sure we'll have many more conversations about her. BTW i have hen napes as pets, Jakiepoo,Stacie, Binkie and a male Nitro. What's your hens name?

 

[Jaicee]

Thanks for the encouragement henpecked im pretty determined myself so this might end up being a battle of the wills with her. Until i have exhausted every resource i have and then some i refuse to give up on her, although that opinion usually changes right after she bites me, haha. Her name is panchita. Many many years ago my hubbys uncle was living in el salvadore where he got her and he says she used to speak fluent spanish cause the house keeper would talk to her but hasnt spoken for years. You see, hubbys aunt and uncle are in their 70s and both are dteriorating in health so she hasnt been neglected but certainly hasnt had the interaction she needs in quite awhile. I know she is a project bird at this point and knew nothing about amazons nor their temperment before she came to live with us. Im hoping that with lots of patience she will eventually be able to be trusted to come out of her cage but at this point im wondering if she may be beyond that point already. We also have a busy house with me, my husband, another free roaming bird and a dog and im positive she is used to the quietness of a "grandparents" home

 

[henpecked]

If she used to talk , she will again once she comfortable . Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[4dugnlee]

I got my first BFA about 3 months ago and she's 12 years old. She was not handled and was not let out of her cage by her previous owner, who had her for 4 years. She was not handleable and would bite and draw blood if we tried to get her to step up. She is flighted so she would just fly away after she bit. She would take treats from us and that was as close as we could get to touching her. It took 2 months of working with her, but then one day she flew to where we were sitting. Then a couple days later, she flew to right beside me, then a couple days later, flew and landed on me. I always have treats with me for her. After that she just started stepping up and now I can get her in and out of her cage whenever I want (although it's harder to get her in if she's not ready to go back in). She just had to decide to trust me I think and know that I wasn't going to hurt her. She, also, is terrified of a stick/perch.

We were told that she knows a few words but for the first few days she only said "hello". Then she opened up and started talking quite a bit and singing.

I am in no way an expert..lol..as she is my first amazon, and others on the forum are WAY more qualified to give you advice. But just know that in time it should get better. Hopefully she will open up and trust you and then it all turns around. Good luck!

 

[Birdman666]

Welcome to the forum. Don't let the biting/lunging run you away. You don't want her to think she's controlling you with this action. Your goal is to take charge by controlling interactions.(similar to what she's doing). You need to make small decisions for her. When she wants pets, only give them for a few seconds and quit. She'll probably try and bite if you quit too soon so be prepared. The biting is all about her controlling her situation. It has probably worked well for her in the past and will take time to change.Pick a favorite treat she ONLY gets from your hand when good. Make her earn it.Don't keep handing out treats until she's had enough. Yes she's a sneaky girl, hen zons can be very sneaky and determined. Don't trust her. "How do i avoid getting bit if she is doing what i have decided is luring me in for the bite? " Don't put your self in the situation to get bit. All interactions should be short, end on a good note and leave her wanting more from you. The target,clicker, training can all be done with her inside the cage. I wouldn't let her out , not yet anyway. Loads of good info in some of the older threads in this section. I'm sure we'll have many more conversations about her. BTW i have hen napes as pets, Jakiepoo,Stacie, Binkie and a male Nitro. What's your hens name?

This is good advice.

Also, amazon body language MEANS SOMETHING. From the tail flairs, to the way they hold their heads and shoulders, to the way they are standing or walking. These are all ways your bird is expressing himself. He is communicating, or at least trying too, what he is going to do.

With zons, a lot of biting behaviors happen because the human isn't getting what the bird is telling them. So the bird resorts to WHAT? DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU?!

THE SOONER YOU LEARN AMAZON BODY LANGUAGE, THE BETTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ANTICIPATE WHAT YOUR BIRD IS SAYING NON-VERBALLY, AND WHAT HE IS LIKELY TO DO NEXT...

Joanie Doss wrote "the bible" on amazon body language, and what it means. There's actually a book on it.